ISLAM LIBERAL Prospects and Challenges

The phrase "Liberal Islam" may sound contradiction in terms. Over the centuries, the West has identified Islam with its exotic elements. Islamic belief is equated with fanaticism, as Voltaire puts it in his writing, "Mahomet, or Fanatism". Islam is also equated with injustice, as Mountesqieu expressed it as "Eastern injustice", or the definition given by Francis Bacon "An empire that has absolutely no values of politeness (civility), an absolute and pure tyranny, as happened in Turkey. "

The above themes continue to this day, as are Western perceptions of Islam which are identified as the imaginations of terrorism, and the frightening images of theocracy. The Iranian Revolution in 1979 and the rise of Islamic radicalism from West Africa to Southeast Asia add to the impression of a visible cold war. Also in the academic world, Muslims are considered to pay attention to radical religious understanding. This can be seen in academic works with troubling titles, such as; Radical Islam (Radical Islam), Militant Islam (Militant Islam), and Jihad (Sacred Rage).

Indeed, some Muslims agree with the Western orientalists that Islam has not been given the opportunity to change. That is what causes Muslims to be faced with a challenge to provide contextual interpretations of various problems. However, the contextual interpretation discourse is still an exciting debate among Muslims. A Pakistani Muslim, for example, once wrote: "People who think about reform or modernization of Islam are wrong, and those who think about reform or modernization of Islam are doomed to fail ... Why should Islam be modernized? Isn't Islamic modernity finished? pure perfect, universal, and valid every time? "

In historical studies, there are indeed various understandings among Muslims. Among the variations in understanding is the existence of a tradition that is voiced consistently so that it parallels liberalism in the Western world. The translators of this tradition express their annoyance, because their position is generally "ignored" by Western scholars and mass media who are more interested in the sensationalism of the extremist-fundamentalist discourse.

The focus of this neglected tradition is notoriously controversial. Because it discusses Islamic ideas that are the most liberal in the thinking of the Islamic world today. Moreover, it is often connotated with Western, secular and influenced by the perspective of orientalism. In fact, this tradition - which is called Liberal Islam - is very inspiring, because it traditionalizes Islamic thought that is open, inclusive and accepts the efforts of contextual ijtihad. Charles Kurzman, in his book Liberal Islam, A Sourcebook, mentions six ideas that can be used as benchmarks for an Islamic thought that can be called "Liberal", namely: (1). against theocracy, namely ideas that want to establish an Islamic state; (2). support the idea of democracy; (3). defending women's rights; (4) defending the rights of non-Muslims; (5) defending freedom of thought; (6) defending the idea of progress. Anyone, according to Kurzman, who defends one of the six ideas above, then he is a Liberal Islam.

In fact, the background of Islamic liberal thought has roots that go far back to the golden age of Islam. Islamic rational theology developed by Mu'tazilah and philosophers, such as al-Kindi, al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, Ibn Rushd and so on, is always considered to have been able to pioneer the development of modern culture today. For example, figures like Ibn Sina and Ibn-Rushd, who are known not only as great philosophers, but also doctors who have left a legacy of extraordinary scientific treasures, namely al-Qanun fi al-Thibb (The Canon) and al-Kulliyat, who are still studied in Europe as an encyclopedia until the 17th century.

Islamic liberal thought which gives great weight to new interpretations of Islamic teachings today, actually does have a genealogy of thought far backward, until Ibn Taymiyah (1963-1328) who faced the problem of two government systems, namely the ideal caliphate - which at that time had ceased to exist - and a "secular" government ruled by the Mamluk sultans, of which Ibn Taymiyyah also served. He is also faced with the existence of two legal systems, namely syari'ah (religious law), and the law applied by the Mamluk government (political expediency, natural equity).

In dealing with this problem, Ibn Taymiyah made a deep reflection on the whole Islamic tradition and the new situation it faced. In these tensions of choice, Ibn Taymiyah suggested a "middle way", that is, a moderate attitude. For that, it is necessary to do ijtihad (dare to think for yourself intellectually) in changing situations. An ijma '(consensus) only existed and occurred in the time of friends - because of their loyalty to what he said and did -, but it no longer applies to legal experts after that. From the content point of view, Ibn Taymiyah's ijtihad thought has pioneered a methodology of text interpretation and ijtihad on socio-political issues, which later became an inspiration, especially among liberalists, as well as revivalists and neo-fundamentalists.

Ibn Taymiyah's efforts were continued by Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406). It was he who pioneered Islamic sociology. Based on the political practices of his historiographical study, Ibn Khaldun - as a wanderer and servant of the many divided Islamic kingdoms at that time - fully believed in Ibn Taymiyah's political thought, especially on the importance of the common good and divine law. in order to maintain the stability and welfare of the country, which was later expanded by the theory of "natural solidarity" (asabiyah) and the ethics of power. Since Ibn Khaldun, Islamic thought on political sociology has had a place in the overall reflection of Islam and social change. Therefore, the reinterpretation of Islam (ijtihad) is an absolute necessity in times of political change.

In fact, Islamic liberalism gained more profound political momentum at the time of the Ottoman sultanate in Turkey, which a handful of scholars in Constantinople felt as outdated, too rigid, and too religious. Among the intellectual figures were Sinasi, Ziya Pasha and Namik Kemal. In Egypt, there are also figures of the caliber of liberal Turkey, such as Rifa 'Badawi Rafi' al-Tahtawi (1801-1873), Khayr al-Din Pasha (1810-18819), and Butrus al-Bustam (1819-1883) . They are faced with questions, which in summary are: What is a good society? How can you know that (society) is good or ideal? What norms should guide a social reform? Where should the norms be sought? Can it be from Islam or is it from the West? So, between Islam and the West, is there no conflict?

According to them, 'ulama must be involved in government, but for that,' ulama must first be given adequate modern education, so that they can see the situation and needs of modern society today. From these 'ulama, knowledge is required of what the modern world is and its problems, so that they are not confined only in traditional teachings. Meanwhile, shari'ah must also be adapted to the new situation. Between syari'ah (Islamic law) and natural law (science) developed in Europe, it is considered that there is not much difference in principle. Therefore, modern education is a must for Muslims. Also to "renew" the shari'ah.

Thus, until before Jamal al-Din al-Afghani (1839-1897), Muhammad 'Abduh and Muhammad Rasyd Ridla (1865-1935), the realization that Islam - meaning of course the Muslim understanding of Islam - must be "modernized" or "rationalized" has become a common consciousness of Muslim scholars. And this has given rise to what Fazlur Rahman calls the "early modernism movement." Therefore, Tahtawi and all his contemporaries saw that Europe was an inevitable source of ideas and discoveries. So, Islah must learn from the West!

Indeed, they too are aware of the dangers that can arise from this "westernization" process. But they also believe that the power of progressive ideas from the West will also be able to overcome the problems that arise. Moreover, at the same time as the emergence of these ideas, the Ottomans experienced a political decline.

Furthermore, the problem became another when Afghani, 'Abduh and Rasyd Rida lived. The problem facing them is European imperialism. The Ottoman Empire in the years 1875-1878, has entered European military power. In 1881, Tunisia was occupied by France and in 1882, Egypt fell to the British. And in these years, all the Islamic world was in the grip of European colonialism, including Indonesia. So, politically the situation has changed. So seeing the Western-Modern phenomenon without criticism becomes naive. Through them, the idea of pan-Islamism emerged which wanted to fight against Western colonialism.

Within them, an awareness has arisen that the modern West also has a destructive side, namely imperialism which destroys Islamic culture both socio-culture and politically. The awareness arose that what was modern was not only the West, but also Islam. Therefore, this early modernism thought and movement later encouraged the emergence of neo-revivalism movements, which were mainly led by Hassan al-Banna, Sayyid Qutb, and Abu 'Al-Mawdudi, who would later be "branded" as the roots of contemporary Islamic fundamentalism. .

At this time, the idea of the romanticism of Islamic glory emerged as a motivation against colonialism. This is the biggest impetus that reflects back on the meaning of Islamic civilization in the modern world, in the midst of Western hegemony at that time. This encouragement continued to be a momentum for post-colonial Islamic thought. From here, begin to reflect on the emergence of Western civilization and its hegemony over the Islamic world. Later, as the "pinnacle" of modernist thought, it is very relevant to pay attention to political-economic studies on what drives Western imperialism to the Islamic world. Contemporary Muslim thinkers such as Hasan Hanafi, Asghar Ali Engineer, Ali Shari'ati, Zia-ul Haq, and other transformist circles who pay attention to the idea of liberation, deserve attention too.

At this point, it is interesting to pay attention to the main ideas of these modernist-liberal circles, which will be strongly criticized by Islamic fundamentalists, especially as Nader Saiedi wrote in their views regarding: First, the belief in the need for a dialectical philosophy ; second, the belief in the existence of an aspect of historicism in socio-religious life; third, the importance of continuously reopening the doors of ijtihad which were previously closed or were closed by ulama fatwas; fourth, the use of rational arguments for faith; fifth, the need for educational reform; and sixth, sympathy and respect for the rights of women, and non-Muslims.

Source: http://luk.staff.ugm.ac.id/kmi/islam/gapai/IslamLiberal.html